"I am absolutely in favour of Turkey's accession to the EU so that people can see that there are also 'other' Turks. Turkey offers a chance to peaceful co-existence of Orient and Occident. Islam is of course compatible with democracy. Other religions are similarly hostile to women, but have developed further. Islam, too, is capable of developing. Europe has to succeed in dealing with Turkey

Seyran Ates, Den Islam integrieren (Integrate Islam), Die Welt, 4 July 2008. "Islam has to be integrated into a democratic state of law."

Seyran Ates, Tschüss, Herr Sen (Bye Mr. Sen), Die Welt, 2 July 2008. Ates criticizes the former director of the Center for Studies on Turkey, Faruk Sen, who had to step down after saying that Turks are the Jews of today.

Seyran Ates, Muslime müssen sich zur deutschen Werteordnung bekennen, interview in Spiegel Online, 13 March 2008. Seyran Ates discusses the German Islam Conference, the dominance of conservative Muslim associations in Germany, and Erdogan's speech in Cologne: "Erdogan forgets that he drives a wedge between the German government and the Turks who live in Germany."

The sources that best help understand Seyran Ates are her three books, published in 2003 and 2007 but only available in German:

Heinrich Wefing, Islamismus. Der Fall Ates, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 January 2007. Wefing comments on Seyran Ates's decision to close her legal practice because of threats and assaults by Turks and Kurds and the possible reopening of her office.